Forever Trust in Love
by Katherine Bristiow
Summary: AU - Pre Nadia - Irina finally tells Jack about the passenger is - and it turns out that he has a six year old daughter he never knew about.
1. Chapter 1

So I wrote this story about 3 years ago on , and have recently decided to resurrect it and finish it. Hope you all enjoy!

Summary: AU: Irina finally tells Jack the truth about the Passenger and who's daughter she actually is – Set Pre-Nadia.

T for now, but certain chapters will be M.

Disclaimer: Alias belongs to ABC and J.J. Abrams. All the new characters belong to me.

Jack cursed silently to himself as he looked at the blank screen of his laptop.

Ever since Irina had dissolved her communications account he had been

continuously searching for some way to contact her, but so far he had been

unsuccessful. He had all of his contacts searching too, but it seemed utterly

impossible. Irina had hidden herself away well, and he had little doubt in his mind

that she could stay underground indefinitely if she chose to.

'Btch', He thought to himself for the millionth time since he had discovered

the truth, discovered the extent of her traitorous ways. In all those years that he

had hated her, cursed her for lying to him and deceiving him, it had never once

crossed his mind that she might have been unfaithful to him as well. God, how

could he have been so blind. And how could she have sat there, pretending to be

sorry, pretending to have missed him while all along she knew how deeply she had

betrayed him. In Panama, and during that year of hurried meetings, stolen

moments and brief rendezvous she had just been deceiving him and lying to him

again. How could he have not seen her for who she really was?

Jack looked forward to the next time that he saw Irina. He was already

planning just how he wanted the meeting to go. All of his versions of their next

meeting began with him demanding the truth and ended with Irina in pain, as way

of making up for the emotional pain she put him through for the last twenty-four

years. Although to do this, he would first have to find her. He could only hope that

by now she had heard about Sloane's apparent execution, and the death of

her 'lover' would be enough to draw her out of hiding, or at least enough for her to

make a stupid mistake that would lead him right to her, wherever she was.

Frustrated, Jack turned the laptop off and put it on the seat next to him in his

car. He was obviously not going to find his scheming btch of a wife this way;

make that soon to be ex-wife. After all, as soon as the truth unraveled of her

indiscretion he had felt the final blow of her betrayal and sent out immediately for

divorce papers. As soon as the papers arrived all Jack would have to do was sign

on the dotted line and she would be cut from his life forever. "Well, at least

legally," he said to himself.

As much as he hated to admit it, Irina Derevko would always be a part of his

life. Before they had been joined by their daughter, after her death they had been

brought together in morning and a twisted kind of attraction, and now Jack was

bound to her with an all consuming hate. A hate that constantly reminded him of

all that she had put him through, and continued to put him through.

Jack started up the car. Time to go and check on her 'partner in crime' in the

warehouse Jack had secured him in. Not something that he was looking forward to,

but oh well. Jack was so preoccupied with how he was going to go about this

meeting, that he didn't notice the gas that was slowly filtrating his car. As he

started to lose function of his motor skills, his last thoughts before he passed out

were of his hate for the two people he had once trusted more than anyone else in

the world.

Jack woke up God knows how many hours later with a splitting headache,

only to find himself bound and gagged in the back of a moving truck. The truck

was hurdling at an incredibly fast pace down some unpaved road, in which every

bump and jar transferred immense pain to his already aching body. Light filtered

through the cracks in between the wooden planks, and he could make out the

blurry figure of a woman sitting on a bench attached to the side of the truck. As his

vision cleared, he could make out her light brown hair, and her seemingly familiar

figure. He realized why she looked familiar when she saw that he was awake and

approached to remove the gag. "I was wondering when I would meet you,

Yelena." He grumbled, as the woman who looked so very much like Irina returned

to her seat on the bench.

"So glad you recognize me Jack. All though I'm not surprised. Growing up I was

always told how much I looked like my darling little sister. Never mind the fact that

I was older than her, and it was her who took after me." She said with a mockingly

bitter expression.

"Ah, the sibling rivalry revealed." Jack said sarcastically. This earned him an angry

glare, which he read as 'how dare you mock me.' Funny. He had often gotten that

same expression from her sister. "So, what do I owe the pleasure of this

unexpected meeting? Did I do something to piss the Derevko sisters off, or were

you just a little bit jealous that you're the only sister I haven't met." Jack said

spitefully.

Yelena smiled. "Oh Jack, what makes you so sure that I'm the only sister you

haven't met?" Jack looked up at her in surprise, and her smile widened making her

look like the cat that ate the canary.

Jack took a moment to regroup his thoughts, filing away this little tidbit of

information for later examination, before he addressed her again. "So, are you

going to tell me why I'm here, or what?" he asked.

"You are here because Irina wanted to see you," Yelena answered

cryptically. "She could have just asked." Jack replied.

"But if she asked you, she would have had no assurance that you would have

come alone. This way, she can see you without exposing herself." Yelena replied,

looking through one of the cracks between the wooden planks. "We're here." She

announced, as the truck came to an abrupt halt. Yelena stood up and untied his

legs. "Don't you try anything, or you will not only receive enough pain to regret it,

but I will personally escort you back home without answering any of the many

questions that I'm sure you have" She warned.

Jack sullenly resisted the urge to drop kick her when she hoisted him to his feet.

After all, he did want to know the truth from Irina. Then he would happily do

whatever it took to make that conniving btch pay, and her sisters had better not

interfere.

The back of the truck was opened and Yelena led Jack outside. His legs wobbled

and the bright sun aggravated his headache, and Jack was ashamed at the fact

that he had to lean on Yelena for support. As the truck pulled away she led him up

through an iron wrought gate and up a wide driveway. Jack immediately gauged

his surrounds, hoping to find a hint of where he was. From the landscape he

guessed he was either in England or Ireland. As far as he could see there were no

other houses, nothing but green hills and blue skies. The weather was mild,

characteristic of early summer in Northern Europe. As they approached the house,

Jack began to scrutinize that as well. To call it a house would be a gross

understatement. It was nothing less than a castle. It looked to be at least a few

centuries old, if not older. No doubt it was full of winding hallways and hidden

rooms, the ideal place to hold someone captive. He had better make sure to keep

his bearings if he needed a chance to escape from Irina's clutches.

Yelena lead him through the main entrance hall and down a long

corridor. She opened the door a motioned to him to go in. "Irina will be with you in

a moment." Yelena said, untying his arms. "Don't even think about trying to harm

my little sister." She warned, reading him like an open book. Jack scowled at her

before entering the room. Yelena quickly closed the door behind him, and he

heard the distinct sound of a key in a lock as she locked the door behind him.

Jack slowly surveyed the room, taking in the elegant décor. The tapestries and

furniture gave a soft, gentle feel to it, so very unlike Irina. If he had been a little

more alert Jack would have immediately begun examining and cataloguing all of

the details of the room, but his head was still pounding from whatever Yelena had

drugged him with, followed by the uncomfortable truck ride. So Jack Bristow, spy

extraordinaire, the man who had sworn to always be on guard when within 100

miles of his traitorous wife, sat down in one of the armchairs near the window and

promptly fell asleep.

Jack didn't know how long he slept before he was awoken to the sound of a key in

the lock. Jack immediately stood up, waiting for whoever was on the other side of

the door. In a moment he was rewarded with the sight of Irina, and promptly

pinned her against the wall.


	2. Chapter 2

Irina gasped slightly in surprise and dropped the keys she was holding when she

suddenly found herself against a wall, with Jack's hands gripping her shoulders,

holding her in place. She smiled. "Well Jack, I must say I have missed you too."

Jack just glared at her.

"I don't want to exchange pleasantries with you, Irina. I want you to tell me the

truth." He growled.

"The truth about what exactly, Jack." She said, avoiding the subject and eye

contact. "You need to be more specific."

"Damn you Irina, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Your affair with

Sloane, and your daughter, "the passenger," He spat out. "I want answers and I

want them NOW!" He yelled, slamming her against the wall, hard. Irina winced

slightly but Jack failed to notice, or failed to care.

"How much do you know?" She asked quietly, her eyes downcast.

"What does it matter how much I know? Are you going to try to give me more half-

truths? I'm sick of your elusive crap. I want the truth, the whole truth."

"And nothing but the truth?" Irina asked gently, attempting to lighten up his mood.

All she got was another glare of intense hatred. She shuddered at all the hatred in

his eyes, the hatred he felt towards her. "I want to know what you know so that I

know where to begin."

"Why don't you start with your affair," Jack demanded menacingly. Irina sighed.

This was the reason she had brought him here, to tell him the truth, but now that it

was time she wanted nothing more than to run away. Still, she knew what she had

to do. It was time to bite the bullet.

"Alright," Irina relented, "but only if we can sit down. I'm not going to do this

pinned against a wall." Irina told him. Jack scowled and reluctantly let go of her

shoulders. Jack followed Irina as she went to set down on the loveseat, and

Irina slowly began her story.

"Do you remember when you went to Prauge, about two months before.."

"Before you faked your death," Jack cut in. Irina glared at him before

nodding.

"Well, one day Sydney was at a sleepover with one of her little friends, I

think it was Melissa Hanson. You remember her, she was the one who convinced

Sydney that paste was a raw form of hair gel in kindergarten. You know I never

really liked that girl after Sydney came home covered in that goo. It took a week

to get it all out of her hair." Irina rambled.

"Irina, get to the point." Jack said harshly. Irina sighed.

"I'll never know if he knew that I was all alone that night, or if it was just

coincidence, but I was washing the dishes when all of the sudden Sloane showed

up at the front door with a briefcase. He said that he had papers from the office

that you had asked him to put in your safe in the office, so I let him in…


	3. Chapter 3 Rated M

Warning!! This chapter is rated M for graphic material and emotional anguish.

Read at your own risk.

1980

Irina/Laura Bristow stood in the kitchen washing dishes in the sink. The house was

quiet, too quiet with both her husband and daughter gone. She laughed silently to

herself, since when did she dislike quiet? As a child she recalled the many times

she ran off to God knows where with the intent of getting away from the noise in

her house, but right about now she would gladly welcome the sound of children

running around, the sound of a house full of a family and of love

The ring of the doorbell shook her out of her reverie. "Whom on earth could that

be, coming over at ten o'clock at night?" She said to herself.

Irina dropped the

dishcloth on the counter and took off her apron before going to answer the door.

She was surprised to see that her husband's best friend and boss was standing on

her doorstep. But her surprise faded when she saw the briefcase he was carrying;

no doubt those were files for Jack. She supposed she would have look over them

later to see if there was any pertinent information that the KGB would want to

know. Damn. She had been looking forward to two weeks without having to meet

with her handler again, but oh well.

"Why hello Arvin. What brings you here." She asked, faking cheeriness.

"I have some files to put in Jack's safe, if that's alright with you." He said, holding

up the briefcase.

Irina forced a smile. "Of course. You know the way. I'm just finishing up with the

dishes."

"Alright then." Sloane said, heading toward Jack's office.

Irina couldn't help but

notice that he was swaying slightly as he walked. If she didn't know better she

would have said he was drunk. Strange, Sloane wasn't one to regularly drink. In

fact, Irina couldn't really think of a time where she had ever seen him drunk. Oh

well. Irina could care less what Sloane did. She had never really liked him. There

was just something about him that she didn't like; just what she couldn't put her

finger on. But as long as he was Jack's friend, she would just have to cope and

deal.

The close of a door signaled that Sloane was finished in the office, and she heard

his footsteps coming towards the kitchen. 'Well, I might as well play the good

hostess,' she thought to herself as he entered the kitchen. "Would you like

something to drink?" She asked.

"Ah, that would be nice. Do you have any Merlot?" Sloane asked her, with a smile

on his face.

"Of course," Irina replied getting out the wine and pouring him a glass. She

handed Sloane the glass with a smile, leaving the bottle on the table.

"Where is Sydney tonight?" He asked, slowly sipping the wine.

"Oh, a sleepover at a friend's house. It's only her second night away from home

and I'm a bit worried about her." Irina said, trying to stay within the confides of

Laura's personality. For some reason she always had to work harder at her cover

around Sloane, which was another thing that caused her not to like him.

"I'm sure she'll be fine," he said in that oily way of his. "But what about you. How

are you doing with Jack gone?"

"Fine. I miss him, but we're fine here for couple of weeks."

"That's good," he said

coming up behind her. "I'm so very glad," he whispered in her ear, wrapping his

arms around her waist.

"Arvin!" Irina exclaimed, pulling away. But his grip only

tightened.

"Now, Laura whatever is the matter? I thought you were lonely."

"I never said that Arvin. I think it's time you leave." Irina said firmly, once again

trying to pull away.

"But what if I don't want to leave. What if I want to stay and get to know Laura a

little better." Sloane whispered savagely in her ear, tucking a stray strand of hair

behind her ear. Irina tensed. "No? Alright, how about if I stay and get to know

Irina a little better."

With this Irina's stomach dropped and her chest tightened. 'Oh no, oh no he

knows,' Her mind screamed in panic. She couldn't breath. "Arvin what are you

talking about?" She cried, finally using enough force to break away from his

hold.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about, Ms. Derevko." Sloane said, stepping

towards her. He laughed as she backed away from him.

"I honestly don't know

what you are talking about, Arvin. I think you have had too much to drink

tonight." Irina rationalized, but the panic was evident in her voice. She was being

backed into a corner, figuratively and literally, and they both knew it.

"You can deny it all you want, Irina, but I know the truth. I know who you really

are." Sloane murmured, as Irina backed against the wall. "But, just because I

know your dirty little secret, doesn't mean Jack has to know." Sloane whispered,

reaching for the buttons on her shirt.

Irina pushed him away with as much force as she possessed, propelling him

backwards a few feet. Her eyes were full of fury. "I would gladly tell Jack a

hundred times over before I would allow you to put your hands on me," she said

her voice low and deadly, her hatred evident with every syllable she uttered.

"You little Russian btch." Sloane spat out before flinging himself at her. He

grabbed her, seemingly unfeeling as she lashed out, kicking and hitting him.

His fingers gripped her hair tightly, and yanked her hair hard as he all but dragged

her out of the kitchen, and dragged her, kicking and screaming, down the hall and

into the bedroom. As soon as he had slammed the door behind him, Irina became

poignantly aware of what was going to happen in a few moments if she couldn't

stop him. Immediately she wiggled away from Sloane, and a knee to his groin

caused him to release her hair. But Sloane pulled her arm back as she tried to

leave the room, causing Irina to topple over and hit her head against the small

nightstand next to the bed. The blow left her disoriented, and she barely had

enough time to react before Sloane pulled out a pair of steel handcuffs and

viciously cuffed her to the bars on the headboard. Irina knew then and there that

it was all over, that he could do just what he pleased with her, but still, she

refused to give up without a fight. She pulled against the handcuffs, feeling the

metal gnaw at her wrists, and jerked her entire body as Sloane settled his weight

on top of her. She struggled harder as he viciously ripped her shirt open, sending

buttons flying. He revealed a pocketknife that had been hidden in his pocket, and

began to cut her bra off of her body. Her eyes quickly shut as his hands began to

roam her breasts, effectively stopping the tears that threatened to overtake her.

She would not give him the satisfaction of breaking her. She would not let him see

her cry. She squirmed underneath his hands, wishing, praying for him to stop, but

instead she felt the wetness of his tongue as he took her right nipple in his mouth.

She continued to struggle against the handcuffs as his mouth continued its assault

on her body, but her struggling only seemed to urge him on more. Sloane

abandoned her breasts and turned his attentions to her pants, trying to unbutton

them and pull them off of her, but with Irina kicking him he was having no luck.

Irritated, Sloane once again took out his pocketknife, but instead of trying to cut

her jeans off, he held it to her stomach. "Do you really want little Sydney to come

home tomorrow to find her mother dead in the bedroom?" He whispered to her, as

he dragged the knife across her bare stomach, drawing a bit of blood.

Irina let out a labored sigh of anguish as she stilled, allowing him to remove her

jeans and underwear. But even though she knew that Sloane could easily kill her

without a second thought, that wasn't enough to keep her from bucking as hard as

she could when his fingers came in contact with her core. She silently sobbed as

he drove his fingers in and out of her dry center. She knew any minute he was

going to subject her to the final humiliation, and that unless things changed it was

going to be extremely painful, but what could she do? She refused to attempt to

arouse herself with thoughts of her husband. She wouldn't allow herself to

degrade either of them like that. Suddenly Sloane withdrew his hand, and began

to unbutton his pants. This was it, the beginning of her descent into Hell on Earth.

She steeled herself for the inevitable pain, determined not to cry out, but as he

rammed into her, hard and merciless, she could not stop the cry of pain, of

anguish that escaped her lips. Every thrust elicited a whimper out of her, and each

sound she uttered lead to the further decimation of whatever remained of her self-

respect. Inside her head she rapidly prayed, reciting all of the prayers she had

learned in Russian as a child, desperately hoping that someone would hear her

plea and end her suffering. As it seems, someone, somewhere, must have heard

her, because when she finished reciting her prayers she felt Sloane stiffen and

climax inside her, signaling the end of her ordeal.

Silently Sloane regained his bearings and pulled out of Irina. Slowly he lifts

himself off of her, buttoning his pants as he stood up. He walked towards Irina and

lifted her chin so that she was looking into her eyes. "Thank you so much for that,

Irina," He sneered. "I trust that this little rendezvous will be our little secret. After

all, should Jack ever find out, he would think of you as nothing more than a

worthless, traitorous, Russian whore, who got me drunk and seduced me for Intel.

Because we both know he would believe his best friend unquestionably before he

would believe the woman who betrayed him for ten years." Sloane looked into her

eyes that were so full of hate as he lent down to gave a bruising kiss, which she

struggled against. "I'll see myself out. See you later, Laura." He said, sneering

when he said her name.

He unlocked the handcuffs, taking them with him. Irina waited until she was sure

that he was gone before she collapsed in tears on the bed, sobs racking her body.

Never in her life had she felt so used, so worthless, so dirty. She cried until she

felt like she could cry no more, and then she weakly picked herself up and

dragged herself over to the shower.

Once inside, she turned the water on as hot

as it could go, so hot that she could feel the water scalding her body, but she

welcomed the pain. She felt a sharp burning on her wrists, and looked down to

reveal how raw and bloody they were. She gently washed the blood off, wincing

as the water burned her wounds. Then she washed the rest of her body, scrubbing

her skin raw, trying to erase the feeling of his hands on her flesh, trying to feel

clean again as a new wave of tears overtook her. She stayed like that for God

knows how long, scrubbing and crying until the water turned the cold. Then she

quietly turned of the shower, covered herself in a clean bathrobe and went to bed

on the couch, vaguely reminding herself that she would have to clean up the

house tomorrow before she went to go pick up Sydney.

It would be a week before

she would be able to shake the depression that threatened to consume her and

return to her façade as Laura Bristow, the loving wife and devoted mother who

lived a charmed life, and it would be two weeks before she would sleep in her own

bed again, when Jack finally came back from his trip. The marks on her wrists

finally began to fade after a week and a half, and she explained them off as

scrapes she had received in her attempt to rid the attic of useless junk while he

had been away. Jack had accepted it, for he had no reason to doubt her word.

Two or three small scars remained though, a reminder of the emotional anguish

and emotional scars she would be forced to endure for the rest

of her life.


	4. Chapter 4 Rated M

A/N: Sorry it's taken soo long to update. I've been very busy. And sorry for the weird formatting I was having a little bit of trouble with it. Hope you enjoy this installment!

This Chapter is rated NC-17

Irina looked at the floor as she finished her story. She didn't want to look at Jack right about now, didn't want him to her vulnerability. When she was finished they sat there in silence, Irina trying to regain her composure, and Jack trying to come to terms with what she had just told him.  
Sloane had raped her. He felt like such a horrible person for believing what Sloane had told him for a millisecond without hearing Irina's side. How could he have been so blind? And how could he have not seen how much she was hurting when he came back from that trip? Jack clenched his hands in a fist. Now he could honestly say that he was glad Sloane wasn't dead, because now Jack would have the chance to kill him himself. And it wasn't going to be as quick as an execution, no it was going to be long and painful.  
Gently Jack lifted Irina's chin so that he could look into her eyes, and what he saw struck him deep in his soul. Her eyes were full of pain and suffering, pain that she had endured alone for twenty-four years. Jack brought his hands down to clasp her wrists, running over the faint scars that still lingered. "I'm so sorry Irina," he whispered. "I should have been there to stop him, I should have noticed there was something wrong when I got home. And I should never have believed him. Never in a hundred years. I'm so sorry." Jack's voice broke with emotion.  
Irina just looked at him, before answering softly, "that was the first time I was raped. It wasn't the last. Kashmir took care to add new emotional scars of that calibar. But it was the worst, because I blamed myself, and even though I knew it wasn't my fault, even though I knew I didn't ask for it, I felt like I had betrayed you, like I had had an affair." Jack just looked at her silently, looking in her eyes before she looked away, trying to hide her emotions. Irina walked over the window in the room, looking out it while she let Jack collect his thoughts, and let herself regain her composure.

'Could she really be telling the truth?' Jack thought to himself, 'or is it another act?' Immediately he dismissed the thought, ashamed that he could doubt her, especially about something like this. It didn't matter how good of an actress she was, no one could fake the pain he had seen in her eyes. In a way he really didn't want to believe her. After all, Sloane had been his best friend back in those days. To think that he would have raped Laura would have been preposterous. Jack would have thought the world had a better chance of ending than of that happening. But Sloane had done so many things Jack would have never thought he would do. Besides, seeing that Irina had just barred her soul to him, and he had also just learned the price of leaping to conclusions without knowing all the facts, he decided to take her word at face value. "Irina," he started, not really knowing what to say, reaching for her hand. Irina immediately snatched it from his grasp.

"You came here because you wanted to know the truth, and now you have it." Irina stated, turning around.

Jack could see her emotional barriers were back up, and she trying to gain some sense of professionalism. Jack decided to take her lead, figuring it would be easier for them both, and replied brusquely "No, I came here because your sister drugged me and brought me here. And I didn't just want to know the truth about what happened. I want to know about you and Sloane's daughter, "the passenger."

Irina sighed. She had enough of this emotional train wreck already, and there was still so much that she needed to tell him. "Oh Jack." She said, sidestepping the question. "You always did go straight to the point. Just like when we first met. Do you remember?" she asked, nostalgically.

"Yes, Irina, I remember." Jack sighed. If she wanted to take a trip down memory lane, he might as well indulge her. After all, she might need a break from all of the emotional baggage right now, and he wasn't inhuman enough not to grant it. "We were at the same party on campus. You were adamantly trying to avoid the frat boys that wanted to get you drunk, and I was having a hard time restraining myself from getting drunk until I saw you."

"Then you were all charm, telling those losers to beat it and asking me for a dance. Straight to the point. My knight in shining armor." She smiled. "Quite the opposite of the first time you met me as Irina. Do you remember that?"

Jack sighed again. His patience were wearing a little thin. "Irina, this isn't the time to go down memory lane. I want answers." He told her, as gently as possible. But Irina's persistent glare urged him on. "Of course I remember. It was in that hotel bar in Venice. I was, at the very least surprised to see you there." "Like I had expected to run into you." Irina interrupted. "It was really the opposite of our first meeting. You were drunk and I was trying to get there." She continued.  
"I remember." Jack said.

**********

May 31st 1996

Jack sat at a bar, contemplating his life. As he slowly drank the whiskey in front of him he reflected on the mission that he had just finished. Another SD-6 goose chase. He had been sent to retrieve a Rambaldi artifact, Sloane's newest obsession, but had lost it to K-Directorate. Oh, well. He really didn't buy into any of this Rambaldi nonsense anyway. As Jack took downed the rest of his whiskey he recalled the real reason he was in the bar getting drunk anyway. Today would have been his 26th wedding anniversary. The anniversary of his ultimate betrayal. But Jack didn't want to think about that right about now. All he wanted to think about was the feel of the smooth burn of the whiskey hitting the back of his throat, deluding his memories. He called for the bartender and ordered another drink. As the bartender gave him another glass of whiskey, he caught sight of a woman with long brown hair sitting on the other end of the bar, immersed in drinking herself into oblivion as well. She reminded Jack so much of…  
"Stop it, Jack," he told himself. God, he didn't need to project his wife onto every woman with dark hair. Jack quickly downed his drink again, savoring the burn, and called for his check. He didn't need to sit here staring at a woman who reminded him of his wife. Just then, the woman shifted her head, and he caught a glimpse of her profile, and suddenly his mouth went dry and he couldn't breathe. "Laura?" he whispered softly, astonished. Immediately the woman tensed, and refused to turn around. This proved to Jack that his suspicions were correct. "Or, should I say Irina?" he questioned bitterly, as he stood up, inching towards her. The woman turned, and he saw a look of panic in the eyes of the woman he used think he knew better than anyone else in the world.

"J..Jack," she stuttered, looking like a caged animal.

Just then the bartender interrupted, trying to give Jack his bill. In the brief moment Jack took her eyes off of her to glare at the bartender she bolted, and when he looked back she was gone. Cursing Jack hastily threw some money down and took off after her. He'd be damned if she got away from him that easily. Hurriedly he ran out of the bar, towards the lobby, looking around for her frantically. He finally spotted her in an empty elevator, just as it was about to close. He ran towards the elevator and made it inside just before the doors closed. Laura/Irina gasped and backed against a wall, knowing there was no way of escape.

"Jack," she stuttered again, her eyes in a panic and her breathing labored. Jack just looked at her with fury, before pushing the emergency stop button, halting the elevator between  
floors.

"Don't you Jack me you lying b*tch of a whore." He screamed, pushing her against the wall by her neck. "How dare you talk to me as if nothing happened, as if you didn't screw me over for ten years before abandoning me and our daughter. Don't you even try to act like that didn't happen."

Irina gasped for air. "I'm sorry, so sorry." She managed to whisper. All this got her was a hard slam against the elevator wall.

"Don't you try to fix it with empty apologies Laura." He said, not noticing his slip up. Irina just looked up at him. Right about then the exorbitant amount of alcohol he had consumed took over and he pushed against her, driving his mouth down to claim hers. He relentlessly ravaged her mouth, his touch strong and controlling. There was none of the gentleness he had used with Laura in that kiss. Instead it was full of hatred and anger, and unresolved passion. Her mind befuddled with alcohol and the intoxicating essence that is Jack, Irina leaned into the kiss, moaning softly as his tongue dueled with hers. Irina didn't even notice when Jack's grip on her neck loosened, or when he hit the emergency button again, starting the elevator on its predestined path. Irina was vaguely aware that the elevator was moving again, but how was she expected to concentrate when his tongue was driving her insane.

She barely noticed when the elevator came to a stop and Jack pulled her down the hall. All she could think about was Jack, and how amazing good he made her feel. How she hadn't felt this alive since she left. It was no wonder she didn't protest when he pushed her into his hotel room. Jack couldn't believe he was doing this. He couldn't believe he was kissing the woman who had single-handedly ruined his life, the woman who he had sworn that he would kill should he ever come face to face with her again. Now, instead of holding a gun to her head, instead of threatening her, or calling the CIA, needed him in her now. As if he could read her mind, Jack took his attention from her breasts and put all of his energy into riding them both of their remaining clothes. Soon all their clothes were in a heap on the floor, and they both gasped at the delicious feeling of skin on skin. Jack quickly positioned himself at her entrance, probing gently to see if she was ready, delightfully surprised to find out just how wet she was. Then, with one quick thrust he settled himself deep with in her. They both gasped as he slipped deep inside her, unaccustomed to the feel of each other. But it only took a moment for them to remember, and Jack began to thrust in and out of her, slowly at first and then more frenzied. Irina moaned, crying out his name as he increased his pace. She could feel the familiar feeling of ecstasy begin to grow, causing her to wither underneath Jack. Jack smiled knowingly, and reached down to where their bodies joined, reaching down to stroke the little nub that craved his attention. He felt Irina's walls contract around him and continued his ministrations, bringing her closer and closer to the edge. "Come for me, darling," he whispered, "Come for me." Irina noticed he never used her name, neither Laura nor Irina, but she was too far-gone to care. She felt the waves of pleasure over take her, and she threw her head back against the pillow, screaming Jack's name as stars exploded inside her. Jack wasn't too far behind, moaning as he climaxed inside her, falling on top of her. For a moment, nothing mattered in the world but them. There were no lies, no betrayals, no alias. They were just a man and a woman, in their simplest, humblest state. And that is how they stayed as they drifted off to sleep, peacefully, at least for a few hours.

***********

Present

"I also remember the next morning, when you hit me in the head with an ashtray and took off while I was still unconscious," Jack said brutally.  
Irina scoffed.

"I obviously must have erased some of your memory when I hit you. Or did you just happen to conveniently forget that you threatened to turn me into the CIA before I knocked you out?" Jack just glared at her. "I wasn't going to let them lock me up." She said quietly. "I swore after Kashmir that I was never going to let myself be locked up again, unless it was on my own terms."

"You never contacted me after that." Jack stated.

"You said you swore to see me locked up for good. I thought you hated me, and that morning you proved it. I didn't need my heart broken anymore than it already was." Irina spat venomously. It was only afterwards that she realized what she had said. Fuming, she turned around, trying to regain some sense of calm. Why did this man always do this to her? Whenever she was around him, she was always losing her head. He was infuriating. Whenever they were together, he could make her seethe with anger, or bar the deepest secrets of her soul, without even trying. It wasn't fair. She had worked too hard and too long at keeping her emotions in check for him to break down her walls with his very presence. She had to be strong. She had to keep herself in check.

After Irina's outburst, Jack also had to collect his thoughts. Just what had she meant when she said her heart had been broken? Was it true, or was it another ruse? The way she stopped talking seemed to indicate that she had said something she shouldn't have, but with Irina you could never know. It could just be an elaborate ploy.  
A soft knock on the door interrupted the silence. "Irina," Yelena called through the door. "You have a phone call."

"Can it wait?" Irina asked, her voice sounding haggard.

"No, it can't." Yelena said, entering the room. Irina sighed, shaking her head.

"I'll be right back." She said to Jack.  
In truth she was a little relieved to leave for a moment. She needed to collect herself. The last thing she needed right now was to slip up and reveal something Jack wasn't ready to hear. 'Or say something I'm not ready to say.' She thought silently.

Not wishing to get into another discussion with Yelena at this point in time, Jack began to examine the room he was being held in. He absently scanned an end table situated at the far end of the room. He hadn't noticed it before, he had been too distracted with Irina, but now he saw that it contained dozens of photographs in frames. Walking closer he began to scan the pictures. The first ones he noticed were ones of him, Sydney and Irina, taken back before she had left. There were also a few of Sydney when she was older, one as recent as three years ago. Those had obviously been taken covertly, a thought that slightly bothered him. Then there was a picture of Irina, her two sisters, and another woman he didn't know, who looked to be in her early forties, late thirties. And right next to that was an old picture of the three Derevko women as children, the three of them between the ages of six and ten. Jack smiled slightly as he immediately picked out Irina, she looked so much like Sydney, and her eyes were the same as always. But the next picture he saw erased that smile, and brought him out of his revive, reminding him of the reason he was here.

It was of a young woman with long brown hair, and a demeanor that to him screamed 'Irina'. She was about twenty-three and very pretty. Slowly Jack picked up the picture and turned around. "So, this is her." He said, to Yelena, his voice angry. "This is Irina and Sloane's daughter." It was a statement, not a question. Yelena could tell that he was angry. Not as angry as he was when he thought that Irina had willingly slept with Sloane, but he was still upset, and hurt. "She's pretty." He said, trying to act as if it didn't matter that she was living proof of a betrayal. Because, just as Irina had thought of the rape as a betrayal, Jack did also. Sloane's betrayal. After all, he wasn't so heartless as to blame her for being raped. But for some reason it still hurt deeply that they shared this child together.

Yelena looked confused for a moment, before smiling slightly, and shaking her head. "That's something you need to discuss with Irina," she told him. "You're still angry with her, aren't you?" She asked him. Jack knew it was pointless to lie, no doubt Yelena would see right through him.

"Yes, I am." He said. "She could have told me. She could have told me anytime, especially within the last two years. But she didn't. She chose to conceal what happened. The only reason she told me now is because I already knew Sloane's side of the story. If I hadn't found that out, she would never have told me, would she?" He yelled. His fury was returning, and since he couldn't take it out on Sloane or Irina, he yelled at Yelena. Yelena sighed.

"Jack, I am going to say this once and only once. You do not know what she has been through. There is a lot that you do not know about my sister, and there are things she will probably never tell you. It's not because she doesn't trust you or because she doesn't want you to know, but it is because she just can't talk about it. There are things in her live that all but destroyed her. And someday, when the time is right, I will tell you the truth about Irina, but not now. So just be patient with her for now. All your questions will be answered eventually." She said softly.

"Truth takes time, right." Jack said. He tried to be angry, but Yelena's little speech had succeeded in calming him down.

Yelena smiled. "Yes Jack, truth takes time. And I promise you, when that time is up, I will make sure you have the truth."


End file.
